Many people speak of wishing they could be a part of my studio and training. I’ve decided to share - every so often - some ideas and tips that I share regularly in my studio. Good painting is based on a mindset. I hope these tips will enhance your thinking about paint.
Beginning a painting
A painting is a painting not a drawing. Paint is not photography, colored pencil, crayon, pastel, conte’, or even watercolor. As you begin to paint, you must change your mind, leave the photograph and drawing utensils behind.
Accept and enjoy the thick, tactile opacity of the paint. Details may be delicate, washes may be transparent, but the painting should be neither. Don’t be afraid to commit to the paint.
If you don’t like that first quick emotion charged layout (and it should be quick and emotion charged) you will not like the finished painting no matter how much time and heart you put into it.
To love the first layout, you must learn to look into the future. You must know how to see and develop potential. Ninety percent of success at painting depends on learning to “see.”
Never allow the first layout to cloud your vision of the future. No matter how much you love the beginning, do not deny it its future. Never marry an infant painting to a frame. There comes a point when you must give up your will for the good of the work. It is that experience that makes you a successful painter, not the sale of your piece.
The above painting is done with 4 colors (red, blue, yellow, white). All mixing took place on the canvas. Donna Woodall, 2002
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